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Green Line Derails: A Brief History Of Other CTA Accidents

(CBS) – A CTA Green Line derailed on Thursday in Bronzeville and seven people were being treated for minor injuries.

The worst CTA accident happened on February 4, 1977 when four rail cars plunged off the tracks at the corner of Wabash and Lake streets. Eleven people died.

Here is a brief history of other more recent CTA accidents:

Blue Line Derailment
A CTA Blue Line train derailed in the tunnel approaching O'Hare terminal on April 10, 2019. (Credit: Connor L)

April 10, 2019:  A 39-year-old woman was hopsitalized with a back injury after the train ended up crisscrossed over the tracks between Rosemont and O'Hare. An operator's error was blamed for the accident. 

Blue Line Crash
This CTA train smashed into the escalator on Monday morning at the O'Hare station. (Credit: CBS)

 

March, 2014: A Blue Line train crashed at the O'Hare Airport terminal, driving past the stop and up a commuter escalator. The motorwoman told investigators she had fallen asleep and had worked a lot of overtime before the accident.

Blue_Line_Train_Moved_003
The smashed CTA Blue Line train before it was removed from the tracks on Tuesday night. (Credit: Photo provided to CBS)

October, 2013. A runaway Blue Line train collided with a standing train at the Harlem stop in Forest Park, and 33 people were sent to the hospital. The NTSB investigated and issued urgent safety recommendations to the CTA for its handling of unoccupied cars.

May 2013: A southbound Red Line train derailed near Armitage; two people were injured. The rear wheels reportedly left the tracks.

2012: Half of an eight-car Red Line train derailed between Granville and Loyola. A track switch was allegedly misaligned.

2012; The Orange Line was the scene of a derailment near the CTA yard at Midway Airport. No passengers were aboard at the time, but two CTA employees were injured.

Jan. 9, 1977: Before the deadly February 1977 crash, one person died when a CTA train slammed into a standing train at the Addison Street Station on what is now the Blue Line.

Chicago Fire Dept. EL Crash - Kennedy Expy. & Addison 1976 by ChicagoFD1 on YouTube

We found this WBBM-TV report from that day (above).

 

 

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